First Month Back--New Area: Omak, Washington with Elder Barlow

June 3, 2019

Things are going well. The flight was good. I'm glad me and sister Stapley were flying together: it made it fun. Monday and Tuesday I was with some other Elders near Yakima. On Wednesday I drove up with the zone leaders to Ephrata. On Thursday there was a specialized training for half the mission. Elder Chidester was there so that was awesome to be able to see him again. After the training me, my new companion Elder Barlow, Elder Chidester, and his companion all drove up to Wenatchee. I got to drive because we were getting that car and I'm still the senior companion. My new area is the Omak area. It is a tiny town way up north. We're about an hour and a half away from any other missionaries. There are two Spanish Elders up here that stay with us, so that makes things more fun. We've got a summer party on the 13th where we get to go down to Moses Lake. We're all pretty stoked about that. Up here we're doing a lot of work on the Indian Reservation. My companion Elder Barlow is a Navajo Indian, so he's bomb at working with them. 

I'm doing good. I'm probably going to need some more protein powder and BCAA's here pretty quick. 

Thanks for everything.

Love,

Elder Walker

ps the pics are from Yakima. When we were doing some service we found some monster slugs.

June 10, 2019

This past week has been good. We have been getting strapped up for a baptism next Saturday, so we're all looking forward to that. We also have the mission's summer party on Thursday that we're all pretty stoked for. We've been having a hard time finding people to teach recently, so we're trying some new ways of finding to see what works in thisarea because tracting up here is pretty trash. We have exchanges with the district leader too this coming week, so we've got a pretty full week ahead of us.  

Thanks for the email.

Love,

Elder Walker

June 17, 2019

Yeah that does sound like a pretty busy week. Good that Jamie's staying busy though. We've been doing good up here. This past week was good. We've still been trying to find people to teach and trying new ways of finding. On Saturday we set up a lemonade stand for a couple of hours. We didn't see a whole lot of success from that but we did hand out a few copies of the Book of Mormon. On Thursday we had our 'Zone Conference' summer party with all the northern zones. It was pretty fun, They had it in Moses Lake in the same church I went to while I was serving in 5th Ward, so that was kinda cool to be back for that. We left at 6am and drove about 3 hours. When we got there they turned us loose for a few hours to play sports and hang out. Then in the afternoon they had some training for us, and all the missionaries leaving this transfer gave their departing testimonies. We also got a new car, a 2019 Toyota RAV4. It's super nice. We've also been making some cookies and taking them around to people, so that's been fun. 

Thanks for the email.

Love,

Elder Walker

June 24, 2019

This week has been good. We had exchanges with the district leader this past week. I was with the district leader's companion Elder Arguetta. It was alright--he's a very strange individual, but we got some good work done. We were doing some service at a food bank and the head guy over it thought I was from the Military. It was kinda funny. Crazy story from this week: we were phone tracting (we call all of the contacts in our phones that we don't recognize. It's actually pretty effective.),  and we called a lady who was having a really hard time and was suffering from domestic abuse. We had a really good talk with her and talked a lot about God's love and how she can find peace. We ended up leaving a Book of Mormon out in front of the church for her to come pick up because she didn't want us to see her. And she came and got it. We were super excited. Hopefully she reads some of it and comes to find out it's true. 

That's good that things are going well there at home.  Jamie's still staying busy I assume? It's kinda sad that the pageant is over for good now. I'm glad that Jamie was able to do it one last time. That's exciting that you're going down to BYU. I'll keep you in my prayers as always. How did Dad's team do in the Softball game?

Thanks for the email.

Love,

Elder Walker

8 WEEKS HOME FOR RECOVERY

May 30, 2019

     Josh came home to recover from a severe case of stomach flu that the hospital in Yakima thought was Crohn's disease. (TALK ABOUT A SCARY COUPLE WEEKS!) He was taken through the airport in a wheelchair--weak, drugged up on Hydrocodone, and 10 lbs under-weight. But that didn't stop his sisters from nearly knocking him over when he came in the door. 

His doctor was able to get him right in and rule out both fears: 1) ulcerative colitis flare and 2) Crohn's disease. He soon received clearance to return to his mission. Meanwhile we enjoyed time with him:

Legos during General Conference

Easter 2019

Jamie's Birthday Dinner

Soccer

Sunday Family Time

 A few days before his departure date, Josh relapsed. He lost 10 additional pounds and was unable to return when expected. After the crisis passed, he needed several weeks to put on weight and rebuild his stamina. Again, we enjoyed time with him:

Abby and James taking out their Endowments at the Manti Temple

Cheering Jamie on at State Solo and Ensemble

Throwing the football while girls tell about their day

As his stamina improved he could do more--and so he did!

Last of the season snowboarding up Fairview Canyon

Kolob hike at Zion's National Park

May 23, 2019 he received his travel papers to return to his mission in 4 days! So after a few tears (by me, the mom) we took him to the Scandinavian festival in Ephraim, ate one last time at his favorite restaurant--Malena's, and returned to the Stake President's office to be set apart again.

Peter Breinholt performance

Scandinavian Festival

Waiting at the stake president's office to be set apart

We took him to the airport, and there he met up with a sister missionary from his mission who was also returning after dealing with her health problems--thyroid cancer.

Letting him go seemed harder this time, but we're so thankful his health has returned and he can return to Washington. These past 8 weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions. As always, Josh remained stoic through it all. And though he rode his motorcycle more often than I would have liked :), he remained true to his missionary study habits and virtue. When we dropped him off and watched him go through security, we saw him confidently strike up a conversation with a stranger and I thought, "this once reserved, never-talk-to-strangers young man is empowered as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to go back into the world where he is comfortable, willing to serve, and eager to bring souls unto Christ." His sister gets married next week. Josh will miss the wedding. But the Lord wants him serving the people of Washington--and so he is there. Our hearts are full: 3 John 1:4

MARCH 4, 2019

Things are going well. We had transfers this Wednesday. That was cool. I saw a bunch of missionaries that I knew, so that was fun. We live in Yakima, so we didn't have to drive very far.  My new companion is named elder Eliason. He's pretty cool, really quiet. He's from Delta, so not too far away. We spent most of this week going by potentials and working with our recent converts. It's fun now that there are 4 elders in the apartment. It's kinda crazy too--Jenifer is in my district. It's been kinda weird being the senior Elder in the ward. It's been pretty cool though to be able to lead a little more. This week has been pretty uneventful otherwise. Its been really cold, so we've been trying to find things to do that don't involve walking around when it's dark. 

Thats about all for this week. 

Thanks for the email,

Love,

Elder Walker

MARCH 11, 2019

That sucks, mom, that you are sick. I hope you get feeling better. Are you still on keto? We had a celebration for some of our office missionaries who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, so that was fun. They had some keto snacks there, so that was funny. Sunday was kinda crazy. We found out that one of our recent converts was having some gnarly family issues. We were super worried about it. But that night I got to go  and visit a family from my old area who has a missionary leaving on a mission. That was super cool. Today we found out that things are back on track with our recent convert though, so that was a load off.

That's about all for this week. We've been in finding mode for the week. We found a few people, so that was good. 

Thanks for the email.

Love,

Elder Walker

MARCH 18, 2019

That's good that the weather has been better up in Utah. Things have been a lot warmer here too. It finally got above 45 here and this week is supposed to crack 60, so we're excited about that.  The sooner the snow gets out of here the better. 

That's fun that Jamie has her performance coming up. Hopefully she does great. (you too) 

Thanks for ordering those vitamins--I'll be watching for them. 

     We had stake and zone conference this week.  We had one of the presidency of the 70 come for both of those which was super sweet. Stake conference was super good, and there was a lot of really good messages there. 

     We had exchanges this week too. I got to go with Elder Cook. He's a newer missionary, and he's pretty cool. It was nice to spend the day with someone who can talk a little more. 

Thanks for the email

Love,

Elder Walker

Current Apartment in Yakima

Freezing February in Yakima Washington

February 25, 2019

This past week has been good. Brandy was baptized on Friday. it was kinda a train wreck because it was my first time planning a baptism and my comp sucks at planning, but we got it done. It was really cool: when she came up out of the water she was struggling to hold it together, so the spirit was pretty strong. Other than that it's been a pretty normal week. We've been getting more snow--so that's been making it hard to get out, but we've been getting out a little bit more. 

     We had dinner with a member on Saturday. We got talking about where we were all from, and I mentioned that I was from Mt Pleasant; the wife (she's grandma aged) said that she lived in Fairview for several years, so we started throwing out names of people we might know and come to find out she is Cody Booher's Grandma. It was crazy but kinda cool. We have transfers on the 27th, we are both staying, but we are both getting new companions, so there will be 4 missionaries in the ward. I'm not really sure what the thought process was behind that but we'll see how it goes. 

Thanks for the email,

Love,

Elder Walker

Feb 18, 2019

Things are going well. This week was a little different. My comp was sick for the whole week, so we spent most of it inside. It was a little frustrating, but I did get to go on some exchanges. It was good to get out and about some. We did get to work with our investigator who is still on track to be baptized on the 22nd, so we are all super stoked about that. Transfers are coming up on the 27th, and we've got a specialized training on the 20th, so we're in for an exciting few days here coming up. 

     I think the new change to the communication is super cool. I think it'll be a great support system.

     Thanks for the email,

Love,

Elder Walker

ps. sorry there aren't any photos, we didn't really do anything that I could've taken a picture of. 

February 11, 2019

7 months today. That's crazy to think about. 

     Things have been good here. We've been having a ton of snow. Compared to Utah its pretty normal, but here in Washington people don't know how to handle it very well. The weather has been keeping us in sometimes and last p-day some of the Elders from Zillah got stranded here and had to sleep over with us. 

     More craziness happened this week. There was an Elder in Wenatchee that had to go home for some mental issues and Elder Chidester got emergency transferred up there. Now it's just me and Elder Heaps. We've been working with a Lady named Brandy for the past week to get her to quit smoking. She's been doing awesome and has gone over a week without smoking. She's on date for baptism for the 22nd. 
     Transfers are in 2 weeks, so that's pretty crazy too. It'll be interesting to see what happens and whether or not I get transferred. It'd be kinda cool if I did so I could see Jennifer at the transfer site. 

     I'm doing good on socks; I did get the oxygen drops. For my birthday could you send some of the amino acid powder that dad usually would get me? I'm working out religiously (pun intended) and I'm kinda missing it.  

Thanks for the email.

Love,

Elder Walker

January 28, 2019

This week has been super good: On Thursday we got a new Elder in our apartment, so there is 3 of us in a companionship. He had some stuff go down with his comp, and he had to come here. His leg is also wrecked right now, so that's kinda sad, but we made the most of it and nicknamed him Wheels, lol.  The work here has been good--a little slow now that we have a dude with crutches we have to keep with us, but we've had some good lessons this week. I'm really looking forward to Saturday because I've got a baptism in Naches I'm going to get to go back for, so that'll be sweet. 

Thats sad that dad wrecked the car again--it is a little funny though. I'm glad that Abby and Midnight are both getting better. 

Thanks for the email

love,

Elder Walker

January 21, 2019

Transfers were good and went smoothly. The new companion is super sweet. We get along great, so that is cool. The area is right in the middle of Yakima, so that's a little different. But the ward seems pretty cool. It's made up of a bunch of oddballs, so I fit right in--lol. 

Thats good that Jamie's performances went well. Hopefully now she's got more time to do fun stuff. That's not good that Midnight is hurt. I hope she gets feeling better. 

Your talk looks pretty sweet.  Glad it went well.

     The apartment address is 1403 Perry Loop  #2 Yakima, Washington 98902 

     Thanks for the email. I'm having the time of my life here with this new comp! So thanks for the prayers. They worked. 

Love,

Elder Walker

January 14, 2019

     We are getting doubled out (both of us are leaving Naches).

We got transfer calls on Saturday and found out that we are both getting transferred. I am going to Yakima, so that'll be interesting. I'm kinda salty about it, but it should be alright. I'm going to be companions with an Elder Chidister, who's first name is, get this, Walker. So that'll be funny.  

     This week was good though. The people the Bishop's family brought to church are super cool and are definitely going to make their baptism date. We had a super bomb lesson with them last Monday. We had two families from the ward over with that lesson and they were all teaching along side us. It was sweet! They are both having really great experiences reading the Book of Mormon, so they are pretty much sold on it. 

     Otherwise this week has been pretty good--a little stressful because of transfer calls, but not bad. We were able to get back in contact with some people we hadn't seen in awhile. We also had a guy we are teaching give us a Catechism of the catholic church. 

     Sunday was a whole bunch of saying goodbye. It was kinda sad. I really have grown to love these people, but I guess my time has come. We got pictures with several families we were really close with. One of them is the Ojas (the family we had Christmas eve dinner with). 

     I've been getting back into working out seriously. I have a goal to add 75 pushups to my regiment each month so I'm at 325 and I'm seeing some results, so that's cool. 

     I'm a little nervous about the new companion but also excited. How bad could it be, right? 

     Thanks for the email. Don't bother with the other scarf-- 2 should be fine for me.

Love,

Elder Walker

January 7, 2019

This week has been pretty good. We had exchanges on Wednesday and ended up having a sleep over with the Zone Leaders. That was a good time. It was also kinda funny because my comp was freaking out about it; I'm not sure why, but it was mildly amusing. We had some really good lessons this week with that family we've been working with (Jake and Trena Bultena). They came to church yesterday, and we put them on date for baptism for the 23rd of February. I'm really excited to see how they continue to progress. We had a great FHE with the bishop and his family last week. The investigator had some really good questions and was very impressed with our church, so we are going over there tonight. Hopefully that goes well. They have come to church for the past 2 weeks. 

Thanks for the email,

Love,

Elder Walker  

Monday, December 3, 2018

  We had transfer calls this weekend. Things are not changing much. I'm still in Naches with Elder Bird.

     I would like to have the Christmas photo book. I am missing Y'all, but the work here is where I need to be (even if it sometimes sucks).

     The work here has been good. There are several people who are having a really hard time, and we're trying to work with them. It's been cool to see. This week we had several people bare their souls to us on the doorstep. It was really cool to see the spirit work through them and let us try and help them. 

     Thanks for the email.

Love,

Elder Walker

Monday, December 10, 2018

     Things are a little better. I really appreciated the advice email. Thanks for that. 

     That really sucks that you guys hit a deer. That's good though that nobody got hurt. 

     This week has gone by pretty quick. We had a ward Christmas party on the 7th. That was pretty sweet. We saw some people we don't normally see and met a few new people. We also got to go to a Christmas nativity thing which was super awesome because an elder who I was in the MTC with (Elder Thompson) got moved down here to our zone, so we got to hang with them for a little bit.  

     Thanks for the email, the prayers and the support. 

Love,

Elder Walker

Monday, December 17, 2018

     That's good that Abby is doing better, and that Jamie is doing well in school too. That's nuts that there have been 3 car incidents since I've been gone.

     The work here has been pretty good. We were able to start teaching 3 new people this week. We also had the Christmas gathering for all the southern zones on Saturday, so that was tons of fun.  Other than that it has been pretty normal: the companionship still sucks but not quite so bad right now.  I don't know what time we will be doing the whole Skype thing, but I believe that somebody will be getting in contact with you about that sometime this week, so watch out for that. I'll try and make sure its after 1. 

     Thanks for the email,

Love,
Elder Walker

Monday, December 24, 2018 - Christmas Eve

     That's good that everyone is out for the Christmas break. Let me know how the food turns out. 

     That's cool that Abby and James are now official, and pretty funny that they got stock in Hideaway Valley--though I don't know how that happens in a 4-wheel drive truck.

     We finally got some snow the past few days. Its kinda pitiful, but I'm not complaining since I have to be out in it. 

     I'm looking forward to tomorrow too. It'll be good to talk to Y'all. hopefully that all goes off without a hitch. 

     The work here has been pretty good. We got to talk to a few cool people, and we've got a few new people that are showing some promise. We also went delivering cookies that we made yesterday, so that was fun. We were talking with a guy last night; he's super cool, and he gave us each a silver coin (bullion) as a Christmas present, it was pretty sweet. Grandpa Steed and him would get along pretty well.
     We had a Scandanavian Christmas feast with the Oja family, complete with re-enacting the nativity. It was great.

     Thanks for the email. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow.

Love,

Elder Walker